The opening day of Paris Olympics was full of achievements for Indian athletes. In the 10m Air Pistol Women’s event, Manu Bhaker qualified for the finals after finishing 3rd in the Qualification, with an impressive total score of 580 points and 27 inner. The Indian men’s hockey team also kickstarted their campaign with a 3-2 win against New Zealand in their opening Pool-B match at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium last night. Skipper Harmanpreet Singh’s penalty stroke with one minute remaining helped the men in blue to defeat New Zealand.
India’s badminton campaign also began on a high note. In doubles, pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy registered a comfortable win in their first group stage match defeating French shuttlers Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar, ranked 40th, 21-17, 21-14. In the men’s singles Group L match, World number 18 Lakshya Sen defeated five-time Olympian Kevin Cordon of Guatemala 21-8, 22-10.
In the men’s singles table tennis preliminary round, India’s Harmeet Desai outclassed Zaid Abo Yaman of Jordan 4-0 yesterday. The two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Desai, began the contest on a positive note. He secured five consecutive points to pocket the first game 11-7 in just six minutes. In Rowing, Indian rower Balraj Panwar finished fourth in heats in the men’s single sculls event advancing to the repechage round. Making his Olympic debut at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, Balraj clocked 7:07.11 over 2000m for a fourth-place finish among six rowers in Heat 1.
In the women’s 54 kilograms boxing event, India’s Preeti Pawar marched into Round of 16 with a 5-0 win over Vietnam’s Vo Thi Kim Anh at the North Paris Arena. The 20-year-old Indian boxer recovered after a slow start to land solid blows in the final minute of the first round.
Akashavni Correspondent reports that the aftertaste of the pyrotechnics of a unique opening ceremony on the river sen lingered as the 33rd Olympics got going in full swing at venues all across Paris and beyond. It was a busy day for Indian athletes as they took part in sports ranging from shooting to badminton. Incessant rain led to disruptions in outdoor venues and the gloom accompanied star Indian shooters in action at Chateauroux more than 250 kms away from the French capital. However, even as the 10m air pistol mixed teams faltered, Manu Bhaker broke through the haze to become the first Indian woman shooter to qualify for an Olympic final as she cantered to third place in the 10m air pistol qualification event to remain in contention for an Olympic medal.
In the men’s 10m air pistol qualification neither Sarabjot Singh nor Arjun Singh Cheema made the final. The cheers continued to reverberate back in the city of light as the hockey team made a winning start to their campaign, prevailing 3-2 in a see-saw battle against a gritty New Zealand side. On the badminton courts, top-billed men’s duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as well as singles dynamo Lakshya Sen won their group matches. But the women’s doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponappa suffered a loss in their opener. More victories came later in the day, as young boxer Preeti Pawar outclassed her Vietnamese opponent to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s 54 kg event.
Meanwhile, experienced paddler Harmeet Desai reached the main draw of the men’s singles event with a composed victory. Earlier in the day, rower Balraj Panwar finished fourth in his heat to enter the repechage round. Away from the stadium, the India House was inaugurated in a glitzy ceremony in the presence of legendary athletes such as PT Usha and Abhinav Bindra as well as FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The India House, a collaboration between Indian Olympic Association and the non-profit Reliance foundation, will showcase the country’s culture over the next fortnight. Today, India will be gunning for their first medals of Paris 2024 in shooting and archery. Athletes from the nation will also be in action in sports ranging from badminton to table tennis, boxing to swimming.
